Bad habits such as smoking and over consumption of
calories are becoming more and more ubiquitous among the general population.
Over the decades there have been many laws attempting to reduce tobacco use,
especially in public places, but obesity rates have been rising and is now more
than ever being seen in the youth population. Empty calorie foods are
everywhere and are usually available for much cheaper prices than healthy
foods. This and the addictive amounts of sugar they contain, prompt many people
to choose these foods. How do we
influence the public to make healthier choices and to avoid smoking? Tobacco
use, sedentary lifestyles, and excess caloric consumption are 3 of the leading
causes of mortality. These actions lead to lung and some other cancers, heart
disease, stroke, and diabetes.
It
is sad to see that a lot of people learn their lesson the hard way. 1 in 3
people are obese and there is an estimated 1,658,370 cases of cancer in 2015. It is the
mission of public health professionals to bring about prevention of among the
population to avoid disease. I believe one major problem is education, in both
the parents and the children. Children are exposed to the environment and
lifestyle of their parents, especially when they are too young to care for themselves.
Some children have no choice but to be trapped in a tobacco filled environment
and consuming second-hand smoke. Other children are being fed high calorie, in-nutritious meals at home without even knowing the effects of this food. They
develop the unhealthy habits and stick to them into adolescence and adulthood.
Their parents are setting them up to fail at adhering to a healthy lifestyle.
In
defense of the parents, they may not be educated either. With the busy lives
our generation holds, many households immediately look for the most convenient
option when it comes to feeding their families, and unfortunately these are
often the unhealthiest options. Fast food and frozen dinners is what our
generation has come to rely on. Now that these parents are no longer in school,
where should they expect to be influenced to lead a healthy life? Looking at these risk factors globally, United States is not at the top of prevalence list of obesity or tobacco use. As you can see in the table below, the United States is ranked 12th of the most obese countries in the world (however it is also important to note that there are 196 countries in world).
As for tobacco use, you can see in the image below that the United States also does not have the highest prevalence of this risk factor. China and Eastern and Southern Europe consume the most cigarettes per person.
How do we combat the prevalence of these risk factors? Will the strategies be different based on location? Is this an education issue or the responsibility of the environment and policy makers? Will reductions in obesity and eating unhealthy foods result in more tobacco consumption (as a means to lose weight) and vice versa (picking up another habit). What are your opinions? What are some interventions or policies that you have seen as successful?
http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/topic/cigarette-use-globally/
http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/29-most-obese-countries-in-the-world.html
Hannah, good questions. I think that structure and policy plays a part in the obesity and unhealthy habits that we see today. You mentioned tv dinner etc., and how people rely on them. Another question is why do we rely on them, could it be that in order to survive in this society you need a two income household, especially if you have children. Employers require an 8 hr time shift with many not being flexible in nature. Children are spending more time out of the house and away from parents than before and the time that is spent is short thus necessity dictates that a frozen meal is the quickest to add nourishment as there are only 24 hrs in a day. People no longer have the leisure to attend cooking classes, as it cost and takes time that is already fleeting. I believe that this issue is multi-pronged that must involved all agencies. We cannot disconnect from the reality of our lived environment but assess the impact of that live environment on our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah and Chris
ReplyDeleteIn another class, I am working on a way of intervention to the childhood obesity problem among preschoolars. This age is critical not only because it accounts for future adulthood obesity with its associated comorbidities but also because it is the age of shaping child knowledge, attidudes and beliefs towards healthy lifestyles in general. In my opinion intervention with such a problem is much more successful if it is tackled using an ecological approach. Including the parents by making them percieve the severity of the issue, increase their knowledge, teaching ways of cooking helthy and low budget meals along with targeting the preschools to shape the child knowledge through fun activities are crucial. However; these steps won't be successful without coopration with public policies and community efforts. Taking into consideration also structural barriers and cultural aspects is an extremely impotant issue that should not be neglected.
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI love your global look at this issue. I do not know about other countries, but I feel a large contributor to these risk factors is work life, as Chris had mentioned. Infamously, nurses are known to ironically be some of the unhealthiest people. Instead of blaming the individual or the individual’s parents, a more logical finger could be pointed at the long 12-hour shifts of these nurses and the stressful situations they are placed in. Most of the time, I am too tired before or after my shifts to pack a healthy lunch and end up ordering food. And as we have discussed, stress can have several negative impacts on the body, including obesity, and some even look towards smoking as a stress reliever. Policies on the average work day should be considered as a way to tackle these risk factors, however, many nurses enjoy the long shifts as it leads to less days of the week they have to work. This is just one consideration of many.